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No Mercy (2008)
No Mercy (2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on October 5, 2008, at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. It was the eleventh No Mercy event and starred wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands. It is one of only two WWE pay-per-view events to be held in the state of Oregon, the other being Unforgiven 2004. Eight professional wrestling matches were scheduled on the event's card, which featured a supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The first featured wrestlers from the Raw brand, in which defending World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Shawn Michaels in a ladder match. The other main event featured wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand, in which defending WWE Champion Triple H defeated challenger Jeff Hardy in a standard wrestling match. Three featured bouts were scheduled on the undercard. In a standard wrestling match between wrestlers from the Raw brand, Batista defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. The second was a standard match between wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand in which the Big Show defeated The Undertaker. The third was the predominant match from the ECW brand, a standard match for the ECW Championship, in which the champion Matt Hardy defeated Mark Henry. This was the last No Mercy event to take place, until the pay-per-view was revived in 2016 as a SmackDown pay-per-view, following the return of the brand split. Storylines The event featured eight professional wrestling matches with outcomes predetermined by WWE script writers. The matches featured wrestlers portraying their characters in planned storylines that took place before, during and after the event. All wrestlers were from one of the WWE's three brands – SmackDown, Raw, or ECW – the three storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees. Wrestlers from the Raw brand were featured in the main event at No Mercy: a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship, in which the title belt was suspended above the ring and the first man to climb the ladder and retrieve the belt would win. The match was contested between World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. The buildup to the match began at Unforgiven, when Jericho replaced then World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk in a Championship Scramble match, a 20-minute time limit bout, during which participants can become the temporary champion via pinfall or submission. Punk had, earlier in the night, been attacked by Randy Orton, in storyline, and could not compete, leading to Jericho being his replacement and winning the World Heavyweight Championship. On the September 15 episode of Raw, it was announced that Shawn Michaels would wrestle Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Mercy in a ladder match. The leading staged rivalry scripted into the pay-per-view on the SmackDown brand was between Triple H and Jeff Hardy over the WWE Championship. It was announced on the September 12, 2008 episode of SmackDown that there would be a Fatal-Four Way match, a standard wrestling match involving four competitors. The winner of the match would challenge Triple H for the WWE Championship at No Mercy. The Brian Kendrick, Shelton Benjamin, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Jeff Hardy were the four participants in the match, which Hardy won. It was also announced that Batista would face John "Bradshaw" Layfield in a standard wrestling match, dubbed in professional wrestling as a singles match, to determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. During the September 17, 2008 episode of ECW, it was announced that Matt Hardy would defend the ECW Championship against Mark Henry. It was announced on the September 22, 2008 episode of Raw that Kane would receive a singles match against Rey Mysterio. On the following week on an episode of Raw, an extra stipulation was added, in which if Kane won at No Mercy, Mysterio would be forced to unmask after the match. It was also announced that The Big Show and The Undertaker would have a match, following the events that occurred at Unforgiven. Aftermath The feud between Triple H and Jeff Hardy continued to Cyber Sunday. After a fan vote made Hardy the number one contender, Triple H retained the WWE Championship against him at Cyber Sunday. Hardy remained in the title picture, and eventually won the championship at Armageddon. The Undertaker and The Big Show feud continued to Cyber Sunday and Survivor Series. At Cyber Sunday. The Undertaker defeated The Big Show in a Last Man Standing match; the stipulation had been chosen by the fans. Batista faced Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Championship at Cyber Sunday with the fans voting for Stone Cold as the special guest referee in the match. Two weeks later at the 800th episode of RAW, Chris Jericho regained the title after defeating Batista in a rematch inside a Steel Cage. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * No Mercy Category:No Mercy Category:2008 Pay-Per-View Events Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events